


Summer Seasons (Damie AU)

by Wuskripa



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28482678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wuskripa/pseuds/Wuskripa
Summary: When Dani was young, she would spend every summer with her grandparents in Bly. Once she started college things changed and she didn't have the time anymore. At least not until the summer she finished college and needed to escape the reality for some time. Shortly after her arrival, she noticed everything that had changed since she had been there for the last time, including the new gardener.
Relationships: Dani Clayton & Jamie, Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 5
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time publishing something on AO3, so I'm happy about every feedback and suggestion for improvement. I'm currently without a beta-reader, so I apologize in advance

Dani laid her book aside and took a relaxed breath, before closing her eyes. She was barely awake when the flight assistant gave the passengers all the basic introductions and by the time the plane left the ground she was already in a soft slumber. As though she was looking forward to seeing her grandparents again, she had never enjoyed travelling to England. It was a long flight that often came with turbulences and seating neighbours that somehow managed to make her feel uncomfortable without even talking to her. 

This time it was a man in his mid-40s and she didn’t know what was worse, the looks he gave her every few minutes or the odour she could smell and made her feel uneasy. Either way, she just wanted this flight to be over and the best way to kill time was to sleep a little.

When she woke up from her nap, she still had a few hours to go, but the book she bought with her made her forgot about time for a while. Not just did it make her forgot about time, but furthermore it made her forget about the stress and pain she left behind when she stepped into the plane, ready to leave Iowa. She last time she flew out to England was before she started college and she had to admit that a part of her regretted it. She shared most of her favorite memories with her family in England but when she started college all she could think about was the stressful travel, completely forgetting about the beautiful time that followed once the plane ride was over. 

It was not even her own idea to go there this summer. Her actual idea was to plan out her wedding with her fiancé, Edmund, after their graduation. He finally wanted to marry Dani after years of being purposed and she tried her best to keep a smile whenever they talked about it. But when the time came and they were at the point to settle down for a date Dani couldn’t hold back her doubt anymore. One thing led to another and in the end, Edmund angrily stormed off and told her to give her some space. Dani didn’t know if Edmund was still her fiancé, but deep down she knew that this was not even what she wanted. Truth be told, she didn’t know what she truly wanted, so that was why her mom thought it would be a good idea to visit her grandparents, to get some time for herself. At first, she hesitated, but after thinking about it for a while she agreed that this was actually a good idea, as though it felt more like she was running away from her problems. 

When the plane hit the ground again Dani stayed seated for a moment, allowing everyone in rush to pass first. The doors were not even opened when the people started to get up and pushed their way to the front. She tried her best not to roll her eyes when her neighbour started to complain. Inpatients had always been something to annoy her easily. 

Once the plane started to empty, she got up as well, and as soon as her feet touched the ground memories started to float head. She couldn’t help but smile. She asked herself if this was what coming home felt like. It was a feeling she had only ever experienced when she visited Bly but never before had she tried to give it a name. 

She promptly picked up her luggage before making her way out of the airport. She knew that her grandparents wouldn’t pick her up themselves but rather sent one of their staff members but the problem with that was that her grandparents weren’t necessarily known for keeping the same staff for years. She quickly realized that she didn’t know any of the faces waiting in front of the gate. So, she had to look out for something else, but before she could have a closer look at anyone a tall man walked towards her.

“Miss Clayton?” He asked with a friendly smile. When she nodded he introduced himself. “I’m Owen. Your grandma sent me to pick you up.” He explained. 

“Hey Owen,” Dani smiled back. “Please, call me Dani or Danielle.”

He accepted the offer and called her Dani when he asked her if he could carry her luggage. She gave him a part of it before they left the airport together and made their way to the car. It was the same old car her grandpa loved so much, but rarely ever drove anymore. The older Dani got the less she saw him drive it himself. In the last summer she spent at Bly he wouldn’t drive with her, because he was scared, he would make a mistake and it was a too big risk for him with Danielle by his side. She guessed that four years later he stopped driving completely. 

When they drove towards Bly she noticed a few changes here and there but nothing big, and the closer they got to Bly the less had changed, up to the point where everything looked the same way when she left. She liked that. It gave her a warm feeling in her chest. It was almost like she had never left Bly.

Her grandparent’s property was just as big as remembered and once they reached it, she asked Owen if he could stop the car. “Do you mind if I walk from here?”

He looked a bit skeptical. “Of course, you can, just be careful.”

“Thank you” She smiled. Of course, it felt weird to ask a stranger for permission, but that was what she was used to when she was there. It was his job to take her home to her grandparents and she knew her grandpa wouldn’t be amused when Owen showed up in front of the door, without Dani by his side. 

When she got out of the car, she left the street and took a walk through the bushes until she reached a freshly mowed meadow. The smell still lingered in the air and she smiled. Even though she grew up in a small town in Iowa it was nothing compared to this. There was nothing but nature around her and after all these years she felt a sense of home again. Just being here gave her a long-needed break and she was glad that she had listened to her mother. 

She wasn’t in hurry and already lost sense of time when she made it to a lake near the house. She got closer to the water, but still made sure that there was a certain distance between her and the lake. She had never been allowed to touch the water and now that she was older, she still respected her grandparent’s rules, though some of them may seem outdated for her age. 

“Danielle!” She heard someone call out her name and she immaterially recognized the voice as her grandmother’s. 

“Grandma!” She smiled when she turned around a saw the elder woman walking towards her. She opened her arms and took her in a tight embrace. “Gosh. I missed you so much.” She told her sincerely. 

“We missed you as well, darling. Your grandpa couldn’t stop talking about you to anyone once we heard you would come over.” She laughed and Dani could picture him walking around and being proud of his granddaughter. The two had always had a special relationship. 

They walked back to the house together and Danielle couldn’t help but notice how beautiful the garden looked. Maybe she was wrong and a few things did change after all, because she couldn’t recall that she had ever seen so many flowers bloom in this garden. 

“Admiring the garden?” Her grandma caught on. “We finally found the right person for this as you can see. She doing great work.”

“She is.” Dani agreed still taking in the view. She could make out a small figure in the distance, working in one of the flowerbeds, but before she could have a closer look at the person her grandmother pulled her away.

When they reached the house, her grandpa was already waiting for her. “Finally.” He took her in her arms. “It’s been too long since I saw you, Angel.” 

Dani nodded into his shoulders and hugged him back. “I know. I can’t wait to spend my summer with you.”

“I already thought your grandma and I must come over to Iowa, after hearing your mother dream about your wedding.” 

Danielle knew that this topic would come up eventually, she was just hoping she had more time to prepare an excuse. She knew saying “I’m not ready yet” wouldn’t be enough for her grandparents, but at this point, it was the only thing she could say that would be true. Her grandparents never forced her into anything and they would respect her decision to take her time, but she was scared that they somehow knew that there was more behind this. She was scared that they would probe into something and she was not ready for that kind of conversation yet.

“But you two still have enough time to marry, right? So, why didn’t he come with you?” Her grandpa continued. “Your grandma wants to meet this lucky man, right Rose?”

“You mean, you want to meet him.” The woman laughed next to her husband. She trusted her granddaughter with her choice, but her husband, on the other hand, wanted to meet him personally. From what he had heard he had surely been a nice guy, but nice wasn’t enough for his granddaughter. He knew marriage was not always easy and that there would be rough times, so he wanted to make sure Danielle found someone who would love her through all of this. He needed to see it with his own eyes.

“Okay, I can’t deny that” He smiled. “But you can’t blame me. He’s going to marry my granddaughter after all. My little Angel.” He defended himself.

“He’s working over the summer.” Dani excused his absence. “I’m sorry. But maybe we can find another time to come over together before the wedding.” She decided to just play along for now. She didn’t know at what point they were, so it would be best to pretend as nothing happened. She knew her grandparents would just ask her questions that would make her doubts worse. “So,” She clapped her hands together and forced a smile on her face. “You need to tell me everything that has changed since the last time I was here.” She said and made her way inside.

As she had already assumed not all too much had changed. The house looked the same as it always did. Her grandparent’s still spent time with their old friends and every Sunday they would eat breakfast in a diner in Bly, before walking over to a little market. They kept living the same old life that Dani had always envied.

After exchanging a few stories in the living room Dani excused herself and walked to the room she would spend the summer in. Her luggage was already standing in it and she made a mental note to thank Owen later. She began to put her clothes away and she changed into something more comfortable afterwards. 

when she was done she searched around the room to find the book she was reading earlier but was interrupted by a knock on her door. She opened the door and saw her grandmother standing in front of her. “Darling, aren’t you hungry?” She asked her. 

Now that it was mentioned Dani could feel her stomach crawl and chuckled. “Yes, I really am.” She must have had forgotten about it between all the stress and excitement she was feeling at the same time. With her grandma by her side, she made her way to the kitchen, where Owen finished cooking only moments ago. That was where she spent the rest of her day, together with her family. 

When she woke up the following morning, she was the first to be awake it seemed. She was met with a silence that was only there when no one was moving around the house. The only things she could hear at that moment were the birds that were sitting near the window. Dani was an early bird and she used to the fact that she was often the only one being up in the morning. While some people looked for isolation in the night, she belonged to those who found it in the morning. There was only Dani and the sunrise, nothing else. She enjoyed the view and smiled to herself. There was this warm feeling inside of her again and she didn’t know what she was missing all these years until she felt it again. 

For a moment her mind wandered back to Iowa. She asked herself what Edmund thought about her spontaneous trip to England. She could imagine that he was upset about it considering that he had always wanted to travel with her, but she had always dismissed his ideas. “We neither have the money nor the time” She often found herself saying. It wasn’t a lie, but she had always asked herself if she would’ve tried to find a way if it wasn’t for Edmund. He was her best friend since childhood which made it easy for her to find excuses for her emotional distance. They had been dating for years, it was normal that certain desires weren’t as strong as they used to be. She didn’t want to be reckless with him, neither did she want to take any risk. That was why she said yes on the day he engaged her. It was safe. 

She pushed all of these thoughts aside and decided that food would be a good distraction. She was sure that Owen wouldn’t show up for a couple of more hours, so she would’ve to cook something for herself. She wasn’t the greatest cooker, but she thought making an egg with bacon couldn’t be too hard. 

She quickly learned that it was harder than it seemed, especially because she had never stood in this kitchen to actually cook. She was about to give it a second try after the first egg landed beside the pan when she heard someone entering the kitchen. 

“You’re here early, Ow-“ The person started saying but stopped midsentence, realizing that the smaller figure couldn’t be Owen. 

Dani turned around and was met with a puzzled expression. “You’re not Owen. Why are you cooking but not Owen? Please, don’t tell me you’re a new chief.” She panicked.

Dani wanted to say something right away, but no words could leave her mouth. By her looks, Dani guessed that the gardener was standing in front of her and made her forget how to breathe. In all those summers Dani had spent in Bly she met a lot of people working for her grandparents. Some stayed a summer, others even two, but no one had stayed longer than that. Whether it was a housekeeper who got replaced because they didn’t want to live any longer in Bly or a chief who got fired because they didn’t meet her grandmother’s expectation. So many people, but none of them had ever caught her attention the way the gardener did. Usually, these were just people who would leave eventually, so she didn’t pay any further attention to them. She made sure to learn their names and always acted polite the way she was taught, but never more. She didn’t try to find out anything personal and most of the time she didn’t even attempt to make any small talk.

But this time it was different because she found herself reaching out her hand to the stranger. “Dani,” She introduced herself with a genuine smile, hoping to find out more about the person standing in front of her. 

The woman looked at her hand for a second before returning a smile. “Ah, you’re Poppins.” She grinned. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” 


	2. Chapter Two

At first, the words “You’re Poppins. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Didn’t reach her ears. At least they weren’t processed by her brain right away. She was too busy taking in every little feature of the woman’s face. She started with the eyes that made her feel lost and continued with lips that were formed into a beautiful smile. No one had ever made her feel like that when she first met them for the first. However, for Dani, it didn't feel like she just met a stranger but rather someone she had already met. When she realized what she was doing she stopped herself from staring.

“Excuse me,” She blinked rapidly. “Poppins?”

“Yeah, Poppins,” The stranger confirmed. When the woman saw that Dani was still confused, she let out a little chuckle, making Dani’s heart beat faster. “The first time I heard about you was when your grandpa ended a call with you. He laughed and looked at me before saying ‘She doesn’t know how amazing she is with kids’ I didn’t know what he was talking about so he elaborated and told me about your job as a babysitter. He told me more about you and described you as ‘slightly stern but caring’, you just sounded like Poppins to me.” She shrugged.

Dani could feel how her cheeks turned crimson. Great, she thought to herself. The gardener probably knew everything about her while on the other hand, Dani didn’t even know her name. She never thought that she would feel embarrassed about her grandpa talking to one of the staff members about her. “Well, I told you my name, know it’s your turn,” Dani tried to play her curiosity cool.

“Jamie,” The gardener replied and finally shook Dani’s hand. “A pleasure to meet you,” 

After introducing herself she made a step back and leaned her body against the kitchen counter, while her eyes didn’t leave Dani’s for a second. She seemed just as drawn as Dani did. “Do you have something against the chief, or why are you doing his job?” She said teasingly and crossed her arms. 

“God, no!” Danielle quickly clarified. “Owen is a great chief, but I was so hungry that I couldn’t wait.” 

“I see,” The stared at each other for a couple of more seconds before Jamie spoke again. “I should get started with my work. See you around.” With that, the gardener left Dani back in the kitchen.

Now that she was alone again, she could feel how her heart relaxed. It wasn’t the first time Dani met someone and was shocked by their beauty. In fact, it happened more frequently than she would like to admit. However, Jamie did not just take her breath away for a moment, Dani could downright feel how her heart tried to jump out of her chest, something she hadn’t felt before. 

Dani went back to making her breakfast and had to strain herself so that she wouldn’t think about the situation between Jamie and her. It worked for most of the time and before she knew it she had finished her breakfast and drank her morning cup of coffee. Shortly after she cleaned up the mess she made, she was greeted by a surprised Owen. 

“Good morning, Dani,” He smiled at Danielle and put a bag with groceries down on the kitchen counter. “How was your first night back here?” He wanted to know as he started to unpack the bag.

“It was good. I slept very well.” She returned. 

“Did you already see Hannah today?” He asked Dani who raised an eyebrow at him.

“Hannah Grose? I didn’t know she was still working for my grandparents.”

Danielle had already met Hannah when she was fifteen. She had secretly been one of her favorite people in Bly, but she tried her best not to make it obvious. After all, she didn’t want to make the impression that she got attached to one of the staff members. Plus, Hannah had always been taking her work seriously, so there wasn’t a lot of time for her to spend with a teenager. Once in a while, they would still go to the town together. Hannah had shown her some of her favorite places. Dani didn’t think she would ever see the woman again.

But she was wrong because about an hour later the front door opened and Dani could see Hannah enter the house from the kitchen. Dani walked up to the door and smiled at Hannah, whose eyes widened.

“Danielle Clayton?” She asked in disbelieve and look up and down. “You’ve gotten even prettier since the last time we saw each other. I didn’t think that could be possible.”

“It’s good to see you again, Hannah.” Dani welcomed her and opened her arms for a short hug. She invited Hannah to come along with her and drink tea in the kitchen. As she had expected she had to persuade the other woman a little, but once she heard that Owen brew the tea, she agreed to join Dani for a few minutes. 

***

There were a lot of things going in Dani’s head on the first week she spent in Bly. Mainly the things that had happened before she came here. She replayed the night when things went down with Edmund over and over in her head. She remembered vividly when they sat down at the table they booked for the evening. He made a corny joke and Dani laughed about it. They sat across from each other and Dani enjoyed the idea of them seeming only like best friends. Best friends having a good time together. During the dinner there was no kissing, no was no hand-holding or any kind of touching. Dani forgot about the ring on her finger and felt free again. 

But the idea was ruined when Edmund sipped on his glass of wine and brought up the wedding. “My mom asked me how far we got with plans for our wedding.” He said and reached for Dani’s hand that was lying on the table. 

Now he was there, touching her hand and Dani remembered that they were not just best friends. That she wasn’t fifteen anymore and she would never get this feeling back he gave her as her best friend. She relived pain whenever she put herself back in that situation. 

However, it wasn’t unexpected to her. She knew she would use the time in Bly to think over everything. She made this trip to have time to figure herself out and she couldn’t figure herself out without finding out what went down that night. She needed to know what part of her made her break Edmund’s heart. 

It was expected. What was unexpected, on the other side, was that there was something that could distract her from her thoughts. More specifically, there was someone. There were some moments when Dani didn’t have time to think about Eddie, because she was distracted by the presence of someone. Whenever Jamie came into the picture, she couldn’t help but think about her. She thought about the way Jamie made her feel something she never felt before, at least not so strong. She always had the desire to talk to the other woman and would often find excuses to do so. Sometimes she went into the kitchen in the early morning hours with the hope to meet the gardener getting her tea. Other times she would take little walks over the piece of land her grandparents owned, just to see her from the distance. She already started to feel creepy when she noticed Jamie starting to do similar things. 

Jamie would spend more time in the house and sometimes joined the family for dinner. Something she didn’t do the first couple of days Dani stayed at Bly. Moreover, whenever Dani spent time outside of the house, Jamie would walk up to her and talk to her. She would joke around and found countless ways to make Dani feel flustered. Dani was aware that Jamie was flirting with her, she just didn’t know what that meant. 

One morning Dani found herself drinking her morning coffee in the garden. She breathed in the fresh air and sat down on the porch. She took in the view and smiled to herself. It was a view she would love to see every morning. There was still fog in the air but it wasn’t enough to block the roses from Dani’s point of view. She just looked at the red and white roses while drinking her coffee.

After some time, her view was blocked by a small figure approaching her. “Good morning, Poppins,” She was greeted with a grin. 

The grin made her feel an unknown feeling in her stomach, but not for the first time in the past days. “Good morning, Jamie,” She smiled at her. 

“What brought you out here at such early time?” Jamie took a seat next to her. 

“I don’t know, I just wanted to drink my coffee with a nice view.” Dani’s head turned to Jamie and their eyes connected. 

“Oh yeah the view is beautiful,” Jamie said with a low voice, before turning her head. “With all the fog around us,” She joked. And Dani could swear that she saw the gardener’s cheeks turn red. “Have you been in town yet?”

Dani nodded. “We were there on Sunday.”

“Right, family tradition,” Jamie remembered. “I was sort of wondering if you wanted to join Owen and me to go to a small pub tonight. We wanted to catch up with some friends,” 

Danielle would love to say yes. She wanted to spend more time with the gardener and there was a perfect opportunity. She would have the chance to actually exchange more than just a few teasing sentences with her. That was how most of their conversations went the past week. Jamie would take every chance she got to tease Dani, and once her cheeks turned red Jami would tease her even more. It was just a playful bonding; Dani would tell herself all week. Yes, there was obviously flirting involved, but it always came across jokingly. 

But then she remembered that her fiancé was waiting for her to return back home. She had someone waiting for her, so it was definitely not okay to flirt with her grandparent’s gardener. It seemed like was using Jamie as a distraction or in the worst-case scenario her mind created, she was mentally using her as a warm body. It had to stop.

“I’ll think about it.” Dani tried to smile, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes when she saw a spark of disappointment in Jamie’s expression. “I’m not sure what my grandparents planned for tonight.” She offered as a feeble excuse.

“It’s alright, Poppins,” Jamie got up on her feet. “I should get back to work. Enjoy the rest of your coffee.” 

And with that, she walked away from Dani. “Great,” Dani whispered to herself and got up as well, to walk back inside. She could hear Rose laugh in the living room and joined her. 

She sat on the couch and read a book when she could hear Dani walk in. “Oh darling, come sit with me,” She patted the empty seat next to her on the couch. When Dani had sat down Rose took her hand. “What’s going on in the beautiful mind of yours again?” She asked. 

“Nothing serious,” Dani told her. “I was invited to hang out with Owen and Jamie after work, but I’ll probably say no.” 

“I’d you say no?” Her grandma looked puzzled.

“Well,” Dani chuckled. “I’m here to spend my summer with you and grandpa, not with your staff.”

“Oh darling, enjoy your time here with people your age. You’re not a little girl anymore. If you wanna go out and make some friends please go. Jamie is a sweet woman and I’m sure you two will get along quite well. I have the feeling that you could need a friend right now,” Rose squeezed Dani’s hand. “I don’t know what exactly is troubling you at the moment, but I can see that there’s something you constantly seem to worry about. If you can’t talk to us, which I completely understand, maybe Jamie will have an open ear for you. So, go out and grab a drink with her tonight,” 

“Are you sure?” 

Her grandmother nodded and Dani finally agreed to go out tonight. She walked into the kitchen where Owen was preparing the dinner and told him that she would come with them later. I seemed excited about it and Dani thought that she made the right decision.

A few hours later Jamie held the door open for Dani and they walked into a small pub. “It looks cozy,” Dani noticed. 

Owen told them that he would get them their first-round and meanwhile, Jamie walked Dani over to one of the tables. “I’m glad you came,” Jamie smiled at her.  
They sat down next to each other and waited for Owen to return with their drinks. 

“Couldn’t have missed the opportunity to spend more time with you, could I?” She winked.

“Poppins you flirt,” Jamie grinned, but before anything else could be said Owen came back with their drinks. 

He sat down across from the two, with a knowing look on his face. “Peter and Rebecca should be here any moment,” He looked at his watch. “Meanwhile, you could tell us what brought you back to Bly this summer,” He turned his gaze to Dani.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and Jamie seemed to sense her discomfort, because she replied for her. “I’m sure Peter and Rebecca would love to hear the story as well. Maybe we should wait for them,” She said and turned to look at Dani with a glance that told her not to worry about it. And she was right because as soon as their friends Peter and Rebecca joined the group Owen had forgotten about his question and was deepened in a conversation Dani couldn’t quite follow.

She tried her best to interact with the others, though a part of her couldn’t help but prefer to observe Jamie interact with her friends. She noticed that Jamie would often find a way to tease Owen, but in a different way, she would tease Dani. The same went for Rebecca but Peter seemed to have a problem with that. Jamie ignored his comments and didn’t even cast a glance at him. From what Dani had witnessed that night she couldn’t blame Jamie. Over the whole time, he came across overly possessive and she asked herself if he was there to spent time with the friend group or to watch over Rebecca. 

“So, Dani” Owen grinned at her and she could tell that he already had one beer too much. “Now it’s your turn. Why are you here?”

Dani could feel all eyes on her and prepared herself to say something. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say, but saying that she was running away from herself didn’t seem like a fitting answer. She decided to give them the same reply her grandparents got. “I just need some time to relax. There nothing to worry about when I’m here.” She easily lied with a smile on her lips. 

Everyone seemed to buy her answer. Everyone but Jamie, who tried to hide her doubt the best she could. “It’s getting late,” She said before taking the last sip of her drink. “I think it’s time to call it a night.”

“You’re right,” Dani agreed. She was slightly disappointed that the night had already been over. “I’ll just get a cab,” She already got up when Jamie pulled her back.

“You don’t have to. You could stay at my place and I’ll take you back to Bly Manor in the morning,” She offered. “I got a little flat right above the bar,”  
Dani couldn’t tell whether that was a good or a bad idea, but she couldn’t say no to the other woman, so she nodded and said: “I’ll gladly take that offer. Thank you,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked it :) Let me know what you think


End file.
